


conative

by smear



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Beach Sex, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:55:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smear/pseuds/smear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's dark. The beach is still, peaceful. <br/>Kanaya thinks she is alone, but a long lost friend shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	conative

**Author's Note:**

> This was an rp! I was Kanaya and someone on Cherubplay was Karkat. This ends rather abruptly because they had to end the chat after getting busy. It was really fun up to that point! I hope you guys enjoy reading this.

It was getting old. So, very tiring. The ins and outs of life were starting to get to her. Maybe even beginning to drill a habitual kind of complacency in her head, telling her this was alright, how life was supposed to be: spent in the monotonous coil that it was starting to constrict her into. It was suffocating.  
That was, at least until tonight.  
Kanaya muses to herself when her car reaches the beach - the stars glimmering above it, lending light to the sparkling sand below. The gentle waves rolled into one and other. For miles. She sits in the car, just staring. There really was a beautiful place beyond the pollution and the city.  
Snapping out of the reverie, Kanaya is only brought into the one before her as she musters up the courage to open her door. Afraid that if it be opened, if she dare sully the tranquility of the beach, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. That wasn’t the case when she stepped into the sand, her shoes acting as a shield. No, no that wasn’t right. She takes them off, setting them on the floor before the passengers seat. With a deep breath, she tries again, slipping her toes into the sand. As she rises a gentle breeze blows her cobalt dress, her hat taken with it.  
But that was alright. It must have wanted to go.  
Closing the door, then setting her keys on the front wheel of her car where she would find them for later, Kanaya soon made her way to the water. She made extra sure to dig her toes and heels into the cool sand as she walked. She should be used to it by now, really, but everything was so foreign - it all felt so new. Removed from the real world as it diverged into it’s own realm.  
As she approaches the water after an unknown amount of time passes, Kanaya’s hat catches her eye as it lands into the water when the wind decides to part with it. It was carefully rolling back to shore - soon at someone else's feet. Someone else was here, then?  
It was much too dark to make the figure out, though she didn’t intend on it. But slowly, they seemed to be moving closer.

Life on Earth had turned out to be... Surprisingly simple. The Humans were leery, of course, of the trolls, no matter how few of them there may have been. But Jade, Dave, John, and Rose were really the only humans Karkat had any business interacting with /anyway/- The rest could go and fuck themselves for all he cared. The planet was vast and interesting, colorful and deep, with a sun that didn't completely burn them and a single moon bright enough that the nights were as easily traversable as the days.   
But it was also... Lonely. Everyone had gone off in separate directions after the game's end- some people had stuck together, of course, like Nepeta and Equius- and Karkat had, for the most part, been alone. Sparing check-ins and occasional messages on his Husktop were the only interactions he received; Not that he really minded, or so he told himself. He was busy.   
Somebody had to record everything they'd been through, and somebody had to make sure everybody was doing okay. He'd been invited by Aradia of all people to go exploring and plumb the depths of the blue marble that they now called 'home', more out of necessity than anything else, but he'd declined. He hadn't felt sociable in so long.   
That was before he'd gotten wind of a certain Jadeblooded someone in his immediate area. As he plopped down next to Kanaya in the sand, pulling his knees up to his chest and huffing somewhat crankily, he glanced out at the ocean. "Been a while." He commented, his voice just as gravelly as ever. Not a terrific opener, but it was better than nothing.

Kanaya’s eyes widened when she realized it was Karkat. Really, what were the odds? She almost gasps as he plops down next to her. After a deep breath, she calms herself. How on Earth was she going to return the greeting? She didn’t expect anyone to be here to begin with.  
Well, firstly, she had decided to sit next to him, mindless of her dress as it pushed into the sand when her weight rested into it. The cool dampness sent a chill up her spine when it registered. Leaning back a bit as she shifts herself to adjust, she has a harder time than she thought she would answering Karkat, let alone looking to him.  
And suddenly when she is about to speak? Cotton mouth. She purses her lips before stroking her tongue along the top one. “It has, hasn’t it?” She says. After the initial moment, she feels herself starting to relax, but only the slightest bit.   
And there she would sit, looking at him until he made the next move. Not that this was a game or anything, but damn. It felt like her world would end if she lost.

Karkat took a small intake of breath as she sat down next to him, hesitating for a moment before leaning his shoulder against hers. It had been a very long time, and Karkat hadn't even realized how much he'd missed the troll beside him until he'd seen her. Time had been that he'd have gone to Kanaya for anything and everything, every small issue and every major problem. Time had been that he /did/ go to her for everything.   
In a way it made him sad that time had passed enough that it was no longer the case. Karkat shifted a bit, not exactly sure where to begin. What did you say to someone you hadn't seen in years? Nobody had ditched anybody, so the typical soap opera dramatic blame game wasn't really in effect; They'd all sort of just drifted apart. Even if Karkat felt perhaps a bit resentful that Kanaya hadn't kept up with him, or even gone looking for him, he hadn't done the same for her in any case.   
"How's Rose?" He asked. Maybe they could just pick up where they left off... More or less. A forced attempt at joviality- Or, as near to joviality as Karkat could get- and a little small talk, and everything would be fine. When in reality all he wanted to do was flop into Kanaya's lap like old times. But then again, neither of them were kids anymore. So for the moment he kept it to just a brush of the shoulder.

The sudden weight on her shoulder shocked her. She hadn’t been anticipating that either. Though really, what could she hope for? Like Karkat must have been thinking, it has been a number of years. What was Kanaya now? Twenty-three earth years old? God, she felt ancient. A scary thought on recalling her lifespan was supposed to last for at least a hundred sweeps. Made her a bit sad.   
She clears her throat to the question, finding it harder to answer than the initial ‘hello’. Gosh, where had things with Rose been? She felt a certain dampness start to bead up under her oculars. Oh no. Trying to calm her breathing, she only shakes her head before plopping it upon Karkat’s.   
“We cut off our matespritship a little under a year ago.” She finally says, the words not so elegantly falling from her mouth as Karkat probably expected them to. Shit, she noticed her breath start to get a bit shaky again, but she would try to steady it before continuing her statement. “We had come to a mutual agreement that it would be better for the both of us to be on our own, in terms of red. Away from one another.” She turns her face a bit more, nuzzling it into Karkat’s hair. Messy as ever. Taking a deep breath, she took in that scent of his that she missed so much. Was that weird? That was probably weird. Then again, she couldn’t really be bothered to care at the moment. Weird was okay for now if it would just let her take him in. 

Karkat let out a slightly exasperated scoff, but the expected 'I told you so' rant about how humans were so unreliable was not forthcoming. "Oh." He said lamely. Awkward. He'd really stuck his foot in it, judging by her shaky breath and the slightest clog of moisture tinging her voice. "Uh, I'm sorry. I know you two really... Had a thing." He grimaced internally. 'Had a thing'? Moron, of /course/ they'd had a thing.   
As Kanaya pressed her face against his hair, he let out another small sigh and bumped his forehead against hers. He'd grown; Where once he'd been shorter than she was he was now at least as tall, perhaps a little shorter, and the baby fat that had rounded his cheeks and chin was gone. He glanced over at her, irises betraying hints of his mutant blood in his age. "It's really good to see you." He said, a little more firmly. "I haven't really- I guess I fell into the trap of being a reclusive fucktruck, as usual." He snorted in pale amusement. "You look okay. Nobody's been giving you shit or anything, right?"   
He'd always been a little less crass with her, a little more polite, a little extra in terms of concern. And, well, she'd always done the same for him. "I know I haven't exactly been ringing your doorbell or anything, but I figured you'd be better off without- Well, I assumed you and Rose would want to do your own thing."

She lifts her forehead from his, moving to kiss it instead, before gently placing it back to where it had been before. “Where you about to say better off without you?” She asks, wanting to address that more than anything else. Really, he couldn’t of actually thought she and Rose really felt that way about him. “If I am going to be honest, you have been on my mind.” She says, before catching herself. “My thinkpan.” She chuckles faintly, realizing just now how acclimated to the human vernacular she had gotten. Looking back into his redding eyes, her own jade green was starting to peek into hers, though not nearly as prominent.  
Upon a closer inspection, where Karkat had seemed to of grown up all the more, Kanaya had stopped getting taller when she hit 5”9’. Apparently that was tall in terms of females for humans? Kanaya found that a bit silly. Along with that, her once slender face and frame seemed to round out over the years. While she was not large by any means, she was certainly full figured. One wouldn’t have thought that would have been the case when she was almost sickly thin when arriving on earth. It must have been the cake. “I seem to get complimented enough.” She admits, though not wanting to touch on more unsavory, crass remarks she has received.  
Or maybe sitting around? Because that was something she tended to do lately. Nothing seemed to be of interest anymore. Everything was so- dull now. While Earth was still a relatively new, objectively exciting planet, Kanaya’s fervor for it seemed to simmer from bubbling over to falling flat. Maybe even before her and Rose decided to remain friends. But a bit of that joy seemed to spark back. That’s right, Karkat was here. Recalling that after losing herself in her thoughts, she nuzzles into his cheek without another word for the moment.

Karkat grunted a bit in response, rolling his eyes a bit as she kissed his forehead but nuzzling against her afterwards all the same. "I guess not. It's still an automatic response." He shrugged a little, sitting up properly at her next comment. "Really? That's... Nice, I guess. I think about you a lot. And the others too, but... I dunno. I guess sometimes I miss you." He scratched his jaw, a bit embarrassed.   
A sharper look appeared on his face as she mentioned 'compliments'. "Have those skeevy humans been giving you shit?" He commented flatly. "Because I'll kick somebody's ass if you need me to." He pinched her cheek playfully, smirking a bit and crossing his legs as he leaned back in the sand. He glanced up at the sky, but as she nuzzled against his cheek he wrinkled his nose a bit. "This planet is big." He grumbled. "Compared to the Lands, I mean. And it's not all molten rivers of blood, that was /bullshit/. Aradia and Sollux and... Maybe Feferi and a couple of the others are out exploring." He shrugged a bit. "I've never been the 'outdoorsy' type but I'm kind of... Making my way around."   
He hadn't really been doing much of anything besides cataloguing their adventure in his spare time and hopping from city to city. He'd gotten an old Volkswagen bus, in /red/ unfortunately, and had been spending a majority of his time in it; It wasn't bad. The lack of Recuperacoons had been problematic at first, but without the Horrorterrors in the outer ring to influence their sleep patterns, Karkat's only excuse for insomnia and nightmare was his own mind.

Kanaya pulls away a bit to watch him as he speaks, noticing the little scratch to his chin. She didn’t know why, but that alone made her smile. Karkat made her smile. “If I was to say that I missed you, especially in comparison to the others, it would be an understatement in all honesty.” She says, sitting up herself.  
She brings her knees to her chest when his gaze tensed, his tone making her shrug in on herself a bit when recalling previous events. It was when he lightened up and pinched her cheek though that she playfully swatted his hand away, though. Thinking back on it, had he ever done that before? Kanaya shakes her head, leaning back on her palms. “I have received more than several unbecoming comments about my rear from Earth men.” She... didn’t like them very much. But when Karkat speaks about the others, she smiles as she glances back to him. “That sounds like it is much better than what I have been doing on my own, admittedly.” And a pause. “It was such bullshit.” She says, remembering a large forest of green flames with the remark.  
Plop. Kanaya lets herself fall back into the sand, despite her better judgment. The chill of the night seeped in to any bare skin, making her shiver a bit. But that wasn’t a bad thing. She folds her arms behind her head, the wet sand coating the back of her hands. “I managed to qualify for what the humans call ‘university’. I took a sweeps worth of classes and ended up with a job designing clothes for one of the labels.” She didn’t sound too - thrilled about it. And besides that, she had been living in the city. Moved to one of her own garage-turned studio pads. Kanaya shrugs, looking up to Karkat, her eyes taking time to adjust to seeing him from a bit farther away in the dark. “Have you been- happy?” Yikes, maybe that was too heavy of a question.

As Kanaya let herself flop down in the sand, Karkat eased himself down beside her, one hand behind his head and the other resting on his chest. He listened, interested, as she detailed her activities. It'd been a hell of a lot more than what he'd done. He grumbled a bit at the sound of 'qualifying' for anything; Alternian education worked so much differently. But expecting the humans to accommodate a dead society's values wasn't exactly a pioneer's duty.   
"When have I /ever/ been 'happy'?" He returned dryly. Although at first not completely serious, he grumbled and shuffled a bit closer to her. "I do alright." He responded. "I'm not... /miserable/. It's just the same shit on a different planet." Karkat took a small breath, letting his eyes close. "Maybe a little more lonely, but I sort of asked for it, so I don't really have anybody to blame." He lifted a hand and covered his eyes from the moon, squinting a bit. "Sometimes I miss the game. It was so energetic. We had purpose. And, we were all together, even if we lost some people. Now everybody has to find their own shit. It's... More complex."

“Its amazing how something so ‘complex’ is so simple, at the heart of it.” She says, watching him as he shuffles to her. After a moment, Kanaya turns over a bit, laying her arm above her head as the other slides along her torso before finding a place at her waist, the curve making a comfy place to rest her arm.  
“I think- I know, since the game, we have all been doing more or less fine. I seem to be keeping my old habit of checking on the others, even if I do not always articulate my concern.” That didn’t sound any better than not speaking to any of them for years. Well, actually. There is one person she’d talked to on and off. “It’s been a month or two since we last talked, but I’ve actually been talking with Eridan.” She says, almost sneering her lip at herself. But she’d only go into that if Karkat asked. But for now, she would shake that topic off. Looking down to Karkat a moment, Kanaya ponders. “I do hope you do not mind.” She whispers, before letting her forehead inch back to his, letting them touch. Her hand slips from her waist to Karkat’s as her eyes close.

Karkat rolled his eyes a bit at the member of the purple-blooded stuck-up troll. "Ugh, of all people- Why /Eridan/?" He wrinkled his nose again. "Are you hateflirting with him or something? The fucking toad is probably still mooning after Feferi like a woofbeast. Besides, last time you met him in person you /cut him in half/." He paused. "Well, I mean, given that- I guess if you wanted to, it wouldn't be an /awful/ kismesis? I dunno." He shrugged a bit.   
As Kanaya put her arm around his waist and leaned her forehead against his, Karkat sighed quietly through his nose. "Of course I don't mind, idiot." He mumbled, slipping his arms around her and tugging her into a more concentrated embrace. "I missed you. I missed /this/. I miss our feelings jams. I miss having somebody to lean on. I'm not sleeping well. Well, better than I used to... But still not /well/." He nuzzled against her cheek and pressed a small kiss against her chin. A rumble sounded in his chest, a small purr of comfort that wouldn't have been unfamiliar to the Jadeblood, even if it had been a while.

“Well, not necessarily flirting.” She begins to say, but then stops, grumbling a bit to herself. “It may be a bit of a- strange dynamic, but we’ve become something akin to friends.” And after that, another pause. Really, just what was going on with the two of them? “He had tried to express to me how awful he felt. But not after confessing he’d been rather lonely for the better part of his time here.” She rolls her eyes, but smiles as Karkat brings her in. “I have no desire for a kismesis anyhow.” Even going so far as to consider it before, but moments like this, as rare as they were, just made any hate she had just kind of - *whoosh*. Wash away.   
Kanaya’s own quiet purr started to swell in her chest when she felt the kiss, nuzzling back into him as she let the words sink in. This was so- nice. “I missed you too.” She whispers, gently slipping her arm under Karkat’s head, pulling him into her neck, her chin resting between his horns. “I am sorry that you still do not get enough sleep. To be honest, I am not sure I would have recognized you without bags under your eyes.” While she spoke, her other hand slipped to his back, holding him in place, like she was afraid of losing him again.

"Could it /possibly/ be that Eridan is actually /growing the fuck up/? Color me fucking shocked." He responded dryly. "It's about time if you ask me." He sighed softly as she tucked his head under her chin, nuzzling against her neck. Between the two of them he had the odd thought that their purring was probably pretty audible. He also had the not-so-odd thought that he didn't give a shit. He didn't have any similar stories for her; It had been pretty dark in terms of communication for him. "... I think... Terezi went off with Dave." He started slowly. "I'm not sure. I've kind of been keeping tabs on people... As much as possible, anyway." He scoffed a bit. "Not like I need to be, but old habits die ugly."   
He fell silent, rolling his eyes a bit at her commentary on his sleeping habits. "Mmnh. How nice of you." He grumbled flatly. He bumped his head up against her chin lightly in retaliation, then withdrew a bit so he could affix her with a baleful glare, one eyebrow quirked. It didn't last terribly long, however; It had little chance to, considering who exactly he was looking at. Once it had faded he glanced around, wrinkling his nose. "Are we just going to lay out in the sand all night?" He asked.

She only answers his glare with a chuckle, returning it with a poorly impersonated scowl. Even if she tried, she could not look angry. Only a bit silly. She was much too complacent at the moment to even bother. “I empathize.” She says, referring to Karkat’s statement about habits. “Though you should know by now, I do the best I can to be accommodating.”   
And with that, she pulls his wandering gaze back to her face. Looking into his eyes a moment, she just takes what lasts for at least ten seconds to look at him. closing her own eyes, she nudges his chin up and gently presses her lips to his, before withdrawing and tucking him back into her neck. “To be honest, I did not know what to expect when I arrived. I figured I would be here alone when I came, but come to fine that wasn’t the case.” A pause. “Thankfully so.” A soft vibration was coming from her chest as her purring grows a bit deeper. “Either we could lay here or walk around.” She says, nuzzling into his hair. “Or if we were crazy enough to risk hypothermia: go into the water.

With a small, amused snort at her pale attempts to mock his scowl and a small roll of his eyes Karkat, for once, actually let a small, lopsided smile slip onto his features. As she tugged his chin to draw his eyes back to hers, it faded a small bit. He took the opportunity to let his eyes wander over her face, intently re-memorizing every feature. He didn't want to run off again, he realized; Maybe Kanaya would be okay with him staying at her place for a night or two. A little more time to catch up than a single night on the beach cuddling (Not that there was necessarily anything wrong with that).   
As her lips met his, he felt a moment of both surprise and a faint tingle of electricity at a sensation he hadn't experienced in so long. His cheeks flushed slightly. When they had been courting pale (Or at least, that was how Karkat might have considered it) during the session small innocuous smooches hadn't necessarily been out of place, even if they'd never quite actually officially entered a moirallegiance. Now, though, without the game or troll society to fall back on, and after living on Earth for so long, it felt a little... Different. Not, necessarily, bad... But different. "The water on Earth is so /warm/ though, compared to back home." He pointed out. "I've slept in Sopor colder than this fucking swill." After a moment he placed a small kiss against her collarbone, nuzzling against her neck.   
He was quiet again for a few seconds, contemplating internally. "... If you wanted," He started slowly, picking his head up again to look at her. "I don't really have anywhere to /be/. I could hang around for a day or two, if you don't mind me being 'all up in your shit', as Dave would say." His lips twitched a bit as if he were nervous she wouldn't want him around; A lot had changed for them, but Karkat's social insecurities apparently hadn't.

Nor had Kanaya’s, for that matter. She’d always been the queen of awkward social graces, even after adjusting to life on the planet. Or at least, she’d like to think she was acclimated to it by now. Propping up on her elbow, Kanaya rests her head in her palm as she looks to Karkat, the skin on her collarbone starting to goosebump. “I do believe ‘having you all up in my shit’ would be wonderful.” She cranes her head down a bit, kissing the tip of his horn closest to her. “Dare I say I was hoping you’d ask. I’m afraid I would have been far too meak to make such a suggestion.”   
She ponders a moment. “Would you like to come back to my home then, for a few days? I live a couple hours from this beach, back in the city.” Then she recalls his van. “Or would you like to stay here? I mean, of course I would as well.”  
Her soft lips curve into a smile before she sits up again, reaching her arms to the sky to stretch as her back arches, a small ‘pop’ coming from her spine. Turning, she looks back to Karkat. “I am afraid I have gotten used to the warmer temperatures here. But... perhaps I could try.” She says, referring to the water. “Would you like to come in with me?” She inquires, moving to lay on her stomach, her arms folded under her chin as her legs gently rock in the air behind her. As she looks at him her cheek presses the sandy arm under her.

As Kanaya sat up, so did Karkat, pulling his legs together and crossing them as he watched her stretch. "Ugh, /please/ in an actual room with some real furniture." He grumbled plaintively, rolling his eyes. "I like the van, but it's been plenty since I actually slept on something that is not the fucking bench in the back. And it's sort of a 'Bed for one' type of thing anyway, and even though I wouldn't bitch about it I would /not/ be happy about sleeping on the fucking floor." He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, then got to his feet.   
"Might as well, it's not like I could get any dirtier." He grumbled, brushing excess sand off of his butt and his sweater. "Sand. I don't understand how anybody could ever enjoy this grainy /crap/." He extended a hand to Kanaya, offering her help up to her feet. "I'm going to need a shower tonight /anyway/ so, I don't see the harm in a little more water." He paused. "It's a good thing we can just toss on an extra set of clothes. That shit was practically a fucking /luxury/ on the Meteor."

Kanaya takes his hand, chuckling at the remark. “I fear that I did not have to suffer that as much as you and the others must have. I am sure it is apparent as to why, but I always had a spare outfit.” She blushes a bit as she recounts something silly. “I had actually ripped apart some of my pillows and made them into a dress at one point.” She awkwardly laughs. “I remember regretting it that night when I had to sleep.” So she nods, “I would hate to make you sleep on the floor.” Not that she’d ever make Karkat do such a thing to begin with.  
She playfully scoffs at him, “My hive used to be in the desert, thank you very much. I happen to enjoy this grainy crap.” She says, her smile only growing wider. Wait... She ponders a moment, a jade blush starting to cross her cheeks. “Do you happen to have any towels in your van? Or shampoo?” God, this was a stupid idea.

Karkat's eyebrows quirked slightly, snorting at the revelation as he pulled her up to her feet. "I remember that dress." He agreed. At her next question he let out a flat laugh. "No, I actually haven't /bathed/ in three months. Can't you fucking tell? Of /course/ I have soap and towels in my van, I'm not a fucking animal." He narrowed his eyes. "Why, what're you thinking, Miss Maryam?" He bumped her hip with his, turning towards where he'd parked his van and starting off.   
It wasn't a terribly long walk to the vehicle, which was parked unobtrusively behind a small grove of trees through which the beach could be seen. It was old, a little rusty, and funnily enough a faded red color; One of the front headlights had been cracked and the other dented, giving the front end of the car a comical frowning appearance. He pulled open the trunk and went rummaging through it for a few seconds before reappearing with an armful of towels and soap. "We should probably leave the towels /here/ though." He pointed out. "No need to get them covered in sand, that defeats the purpose."

She smiles, bumping her hip back into his. “It was...an ugly thing.” She remarks about the dress, before letting out a hearty laugh to Karkat’s little spiel. “I know, I can tell just by looking at you. You look just awful. You always look awful.” She shakes her head as she speaks, of course not meaning a single word. As Karkat leads, she follows in suit.  
When they reach the van, Kanaya takes her time to look it over as Karkat retrieves what they came for. Viewing the frown at the front of it, she can’t help but chuckle, but the laugh fades after a moment, a small pout as she looks at the sad vehicle. Karkat had been.. living in this- thing for three months? The thought made her sad. When he reemerges from the back she quickly moves to change her tenebrose expression to a smile, “I was... I was thinking we could take a bath... In the water?” Rubbing the back of her neck, she blushes as she realizes just how stupid that must have sounded. 

"Well fucking /thank/ you for saying so, I guess all there is left to do is crumple under the weight of my visual ineptitude and succumb to scruffy failure." He returned snippily. "I /will/ have to try and do better." He snorted a bit and left the towels on the hood, tossing her a bottle of body soap. "You wanna try and bathe in the /ocean/?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. He was quiet for a couple of seconds before he shrugged a bit. He couldn't help but smirk a bit at the jade flush of her cheeks. "Uh, yeah. Whatever. Just don't be surprised when I take another one in actual /hot/ water when we get back to your place."   
He took a moment to tug her into a standing embrace, purring quietly and pressing his cheek against hers for a moment, brushing his lips against her jaw before pulling away and taking her arm. "After you." He invited, nodding at the water as they approached the beach once more.

“I will not hold it against you.” She chuckles, “Even someone as scruffy as you needs to have a proper shower.” When Karkat throws the soap she scrambles to catch it, ending up clapping her hands together to grab it, just barely letting it hit her stomach.   
Kanaya clutches the soap in her hand as the other reaches to her jaw as Karkat leaves the embrace and takes her in arm. “Ah - yes, of course.” She says, pausing a moment. Sheepishly looking around, she steps closer to the water, looking to the vastness of the ocean. It was... Frightening. But also very pretty, sparkly like one of her old outfits. Her gaze stops wandering when her eyes land on Karkat again. Gosh, that jade didn’t seem to want to leave her cheeks. “Could you do me a favor, please?” She asks, turning her back to him a bit, glancing to the zipper on the back of her dress. 

Karkat rolled his eyes as they stepped up to the surf and then into the water. "Ha ha ha. Laugh /fucking/ riot." He tugged his sweater over his head, leaving it at the edge of the waves and stepping into the water; It was a little cool, but certainly not the coldest he'd ever been in. Obligingly, Karkat tugged the zipper of her dress down for her and then stepped back, tugging down his pants and kicking them back towards the shore, hoping that they wouldn't get /completely/ soaked.   
"Kanaya," He started, shifting from foot to foot slightly awkwardly. He kept walking out into the water until it was up to his waist. "...What are we? I mean, to one another. Now. So much shit has happened, and then- We fell back into it /so quick/ tonight." He let a wave push him back a bit, shaking his head and huffing to get the water out of his face. "Hff. Even the fucking /ocean/ is trying to shut me up before I make a fool out of myself." He snorted.

Kanaya slips the garment over her head, shaking her hair as it falls from the collar. Pfft, now it was almost as messy as his. “Well, do not worry, I am not one to be speaking on the subject it would seem.” She says with a laugh as she folds the dress, walking back to the shore by his pants. She neatly sets her dress down where she thinks it has the best chance to keep dry, doing the same with Karkats clothes.  
After finishing with the clothing, which really she couldn’t help herself but to tidy, Kanaya finds her way back to the water, chilled by it. Brr! Karkat must of been used to the cold. This thought also made Kanaya very sad when her eyes fell on him. She feels her cheeks start to warm up as he speaks her name. Hmm? Drawing closer, she listens to his words, her cheeks only deepening in color at what they may suggest. Coming up behind Karkat, Kanaya brings her arms around him, bringing him into a tight embrace, barely clutching onto the soap. “I do not know.” She says, kissing his jaw. “But I am thankful.”

Karkat shivered a bit, purring as she kissed his jaw, and turned to slip his arms around her waist. "Yeah." He agreed. "Me too. Good thing I came out here to find you tonight." He gave her a small kiss, less pale and more flushed, tugging her body a little closer to his. He bumped his forehead gently against hers, purring softly, and then took the soap from her. "Want me to get your back?" He offered, quickly running his fingers through his hair to get it a little soapy.   
He gave himself a brief once-over: Expecting a second shower, he figured that he could afford to skip a thorough wash now in favor of a properly warm one later. Karkat set his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them a little and then somewhat playfully pinching her cheeks to smear a little soap onto them as well.

Damnit. There her cheeks go, burning up as she tries to press into the kiss, only to have Karkat pull away. “I wasn’t- done.” Under her breath, she curses the deep color over taking her cheeks, almost thankful that it was as dark as it was. Then again, they both had decent enough eyes sight. Oh, oh no. She was... starting to glow a bit. Shit! Kanaya had thought that she killed that habit sweeps ago. Guess not.   
“If you like you may wash wherever you like.” Fuck. “I mean- you know I trust you to where I know it would not be an issue.” Oh goodness, how smooth. The pinch to her cheeks loosens her nerves though, a laugh following as she swats at his hands. “I’ll take that.” She says, taking the floating soap from the water and squeezes it over Karkats head, snapping it closed as she sets it aside to ruffle up his hair, starting the makings of a huge, white puffball.

Karkat laughed flatly, a raspy noise rather unused as Kanaya stumbled over her words in a manner that he was more akin to hearing in his /own/ speech. "You fucking goon!" He taunted, setting his hands on her hips. Without the barrier of her dress it wasn't just Kanaya whose face had gotten a little flushed; Blooms of mutant red blood had appeared on his own cheeks. "Are you /glowing/? That's fucking adorable. No, really! I thought you'd kicked the habit but I don't mind."   
As she turned his head into a veritable dandelion, Karkat scrunched his face up. "You're enjoying this way too fucking much." He complained, tugging away at earliest opportunity and dunking his head underwater. He came up free of soap, shaking his head back and forth and sending water droplets everywhere. Once he'd finally cleansed himself of soapy lather he tugged Kanaya down to sit in the shallow surf, rocked gently back and forth by the waves. "What were you saying about 'not done'?"

Kanaya only flusters up that much more. “No! No, it is not cute. It is- mortifying. I should not be glowing like some lamp ornament.” She protests, “And you are most certainly not helping!” Who was she kidding, it was all her fault. Really, Kanaya could stop glowing at anytime she wished if it was really that important but - oh god no, she was only becoming brighter with each one of his comments. Goon? Never been called a goon before. Maybe cute.  
“You comment on how much /I/ am enjoying this?” She says, almost a whine as she ruffles his hair while he goes into the water. Oop! There she goes back with him - ah. Not as deep as she had initially thought. Thought... Oh, no her thoughts were scrambled by his last remark. “I- I meant.” What the hell did she mean? At this point did /anything/ have rhyme or reason to it?  
Plop.   
Her lips right on Karkats, no other answer provided, save for the dimming glow of her body as she sets into him, her hands cupping his cheeks as a purr begins to swell in her chest.

"Who's trying to help?" He shot back pointedly. "I think it's /cute/, remember? Fuck." He smirked slightly at the sight of her faint illumination, gently brushing her hands with his. However, surprise commanded Karkat's face as she planted her lips back against his, eyebrows twitching upwards for a moment as she pressed against him, hands against his cheeks. But it didn't take him too long to recover, letting his eyes drift shut and a similar purring arising from his own chest as he set his hands back on her hips.   
It was pleasant, he thought to himself, lips pressing against Kanaya's and then again once the first kiss had ended. His purr rose in volume and he put his arms properly around her, affectionately nipping at her chin.

Her own eyes flutter open for a moment to see Karkat's face just as his eyes close. A small smile started to tug at the sides of her mouth through the kiss. This was much too nice. Too comfortable. /Too real/.  
Eyes falling shut, Kanaya slips her hands from his cheeks to the back of his head, fingers intertwining with his hair. Soon enough, another hand found it's way astray to Karkat's neck, her nails gently grazing the flesh before slowly wrapping around, her thumb gently stroking along the angle of his jaw. And who knew, her purring could, in fact, grow louder. Reflexively, her hips swagger a bit where she sits, nudging up against his hands.

Karkat let out a grunt as her fingers tangled into his hair, and a rather noticeable shiver as her fingernails traced over his neck. He tugged back a bit, giving her a searching look. This was a little deeper than anything they'd ever done before; Not that he necessarily minded, but it was... A little new to him. "Kanaya, are you... Sure you want this?" He asked. "This is /really/ flushed, more flushed than we've ever got." He paused. "I'm /okay/ with it, but after Rose and all..." He shifted a bit, embarrassed.   
After a few moments he pressed his lips against her cheek, trailing them down her jawline, turning his body more towards her. "Are you flushed red for me, Kanaya Maryam?"

As he kisses down her cheek she tilts her head, exposing more of her neck, more so out of reflex than anything. Until his words came... She almost froze, brows raising as her jaw goes a bit slack as she nods. That’s...that’s exactly it. She hadn’t felt this way since her and Rose last dated. And upon realizing that thought she... Couldn't help but shrug into herself before working up the courage to answer. One that she almost choked on.  
"You cannot tell by the way I kiss you?" She asks, the jade in her cheeks flushing almost as much as her feelings. Wow. With that, she turned a bit more to him as well, craning her head to kiss his cheek. Then his jaw. A bit lower- She stops herself, whispering in his ear.. "I must pose the same query, Karkat Vantas."

The jadeblood's tensing made Karkat think that perhaps he'd done something wrong, and he paused with a concerned tightening of his brows. Had he just fucked anything up? But before he could voice an apology, she'd come out with what was, likely, one of the cheesiest lines he'd ever heard. He let out another croaking laugh. "Damn Kanaya, did you pull that straight out of a-" His words caught in his throat as her lips brushed his neck, and he let out an odd hiccup. Apparently she'd found a shut-up button.   
He shivered again as she murmured in his ear, turning his head and nipping at her jaw again. "And I guess my answer must be the same." He responded, slipping his arms completely around her waist and easing himself down onto the sand and the shallow water, tugging her down onto his chest and pressing his lips back against hers.

She softly giggles as Karkat speaks, but it soon turned into a hearty laugh with that little hiccup. "And you call me cute?" She remarks, "I assume that was too much like one of your movies?" Hehe, it was probably even from one that she'd seen with him at one point. But, sadly, she certainly cannot remember.  
Admittedly, she was a bit shocked by his next move, but it was not unwelcome. Kanaya lets Karkat bring her down with him, even pressing a bit to him with a gentle roll of her body as her legs rest on either of his sides. Tilting her head, she brings them into a bit of a deeper kiss, before parting one last time. "You guess?" She whispers, before moving her lips back to his jaw, kissing downwards, a little suction with each press of her lips. And in that moment, she found one of her legs gently nudging it's way between Karkat's.

"Yeah I am, and /yeah/ it /was/." He returned, a little irritated at her laughter but in good spirits nonetheless. He let out a hiss as her lips pressed against his neck, and her leg's presence between his own sent a shiver up his spine. "Ffffuck! Quit it, god damn it!" He snapped. A one hundred percent increase in swearing was a sure sign of a flustered Vantas. "I /know/, okay? Jesus!" He growled a bit, grazing his teeth against her jaw crankily and giving her a slightly harder kiss. He was getting worked up now, and he could already tell that his bulge was starting to poke its way out of its sheathe.   
He slid his hands down her sides, purring once more, but broke it off again with a heavy breath. "You're /really/ working me up right now, Kanaya." He grumbled, cheeks now /flooding/ with red. "Fucking- It's been a really long time and I guess I'm fucking easy. I don't wanna- I don't wanna /push/ you into anything- I mean this is really romantic and all, moonlit night in the surf- but, uh, you know, I'm not-" He scoffed a bit, rubbing his face. "Fuck, I'm such a mess." He let out a flat snort and leaned up, giving Kanaya a quick, sheepish kiss. "Sorry."

It was when Karkat started to fluster up that Kanaya almost backed off, a bit put off by his reaction but - Oh! Wait, no, that was more or less a good sign, wasn't it? If you could call it that. "Stop? Darling, how can I stop when your actions only illicit me to laugh even more." Fuck! Shit, did she actually just snort? Kanaya's hand moves to cover her mouth as her chortles only grow louder. Gosh.  
Watching him as he digs himself in a little hole, Kanaya's hand moves from her mouth to his arms, reassuringly stroking it. "Here you are going on about how much /I/ have you flustered up." She was about to go on, but found another soft kiss to her lips. It almost felt as if Karkat would pull away again, but Kanaya caught his cheeks in her hands, slipping them back to his hair like before. Three... Two... One... She parts, needing to come up for air eventually. "Please, do not apologize."  
How composed she was trying to remain, when under it all she was freaking out just as much as Karkat. Looking him in the eyes a moment, she bites her lip. She decide to gently roll the both of them over so that Karkat's chest was pressed to hers. "But if you really are sorry, I am sure you could make it up to me." She chuckles, not even knowing what she could mean by that. Really, if anything, Kanaya was *awful* at talking during times like this.

Kanaya's long kiss left him a little breathless and more than a little red in the face. "Let's just say that we're /all/ flustered and leave it at that." He grumbled, rolling his eyes a little despite how her giggling made his bloodpusher jump slightly. He purred and pressed his cheek against hers, trailing a line of kisses down her jaw and running his fingers up her back. If her sudden tug and roll surprised him he didn't show it, although he did shift himself so that he could lean on his elbows and keep his arms wrapped around her.  
"Kanaya, that's awfully suggestive of you." He pointed out, brushing his lips against her cheek. "We're laying here naked in the fucking surf like some bad romcom and you're feeding me more cheese than a fucking human dairy farm." He snorted a bit, shivering again and flexing his thighs around her leg momentarily. "You might want to /move/ that." He said, his voice dropping a little in embarrassment. "It's, uh, sort of rubbing against- I mean- Hhhh." He let out a flustered groan and dropped his forehead against the sand beside Kanaya's ear, grumbling.  
But it /was/ getting noticeable that Kanaya's leg between his and the sensation of her body pressed against him was drawing his bulge out. Instead of allowing himself to just languish in mortified iniquity, Karkat lifted his head and set his lips back against Kanaya's, trailing kisses down her chin and jaw.

“Move it?” She asks, bringing her hands to his hips to press him down to her a bit more. “I am sorry, but I do not quite understand. Do you mean like this?” And as soon as she spoke, Karkat was sure to feel Kanaya pressing her knee between his legs, starting to rock his hips to and fro’ just the slightest.   
When his lips met hers again, her tongue started to slip almost immediately from her mouth, tasting Karkats. Ah, no! She felt him drawing away almost as soon as he had come again, and this didn’t go without her turning her head to chase after him. Wait, wha- Oh! Oh, oh gosh. Not the neck, fuck. Kanaya’s head flops back to the side, stretching to give him more room. She was turning into a mess, fast.

Karkat yelped as her knee pressed up against his crotch, his bulge pressing back against it as his back arched. "Ffffucking /dirty/ trick." He hissed, grazing his teeth against her neck in retaliation. "Hhh." He shivered; Now he was really wiggling, hips twitching back and forth as his bulge crept all the way out of its sheathe. He brought his mouth back up to Kanaya's, gently nipping at her lip and then pressing his lips against hers.   
This time he lingered, allowing her tongue to meet his and grunting every time his hips twitched against her leg. He slid his hands down to her hips, gently rubbing circles in her sides with his thumbs. Even if he was getting heated up, this was all still pretty new- Especially with Kanaya- and he seemed reluctant to get too grabby just yet.

“NNgh!” Twitching and whimpering, even starting to squirm. It was only made worse, tenfold, when Karkat brings his teeth into Kanaya’s neck, making her reflexively jerk her hands at his hips. And of course, this brought him down into her in a /very/ rough way. Her eyes crack open a bit as she tries to look down, making sure her moves weren’t too incredibly vicious.   
Instead, her gaze is blocked when Karkat moves to kiss her again, her eyes rolling into her head as she closes them, beginning to writhe against his touch. Fuck. This felt too good. /Fuck/. Her bulge was starting to slip from her underpants, instinctively beginning to stroke against Karkat’s wrist. It was then that she goes bug eyed before calming down, a deep jade overtaking her face if it hadn't already. *Mph mph* through the kiss, before breaking away.” I am- so sorry.” Oh gosh, she was mortified. 

Karkat let out a yelp as she yanked his hips downward, bulge twitching and another noticeable shudder running through him as their hips clashed. "Ffffuck!" He whined, his own face flooding with red. "D-don't worry about it, uh, I'm- It's f-fine." Before he could do anything about it he felt her bulge brush his wrist, and a look of mortified embarrassment appeared on his own face as his bulge slid against hers, snaking around it eagerly.  
He let out a low groan and dropped his head against her shoulder. "Ssssshit." He grazed his teeth against her shoulder and buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Fuck, that's... embarrassing." He shuddered again, hips rolling down against hers.

No matter how much of an embarrassed pile of troll they both melted into, Kanaya would only welcome him into her, turning her cheek to nuzzle into Karkat’s hair as he hid away. Her warm breaths hit his ear as she whimpered, her speech incoherent, but it more than likely akin to begging.  
Oh, oh gosh. “A-ahh!” Kanaya found her bulge making it’s way around Karkat’s, coiling around the bright red organ. With each little move she would squirm under him, holding him tightly as her nails began to dig into his back, before dragging down as she jerked again, her elbows digging into the sand.

Karkat's breathing grew hotter and harder against Kanaya's neck as she murmured into his ear, and his hips bucked against hers. He let out a sharp snarl as her nails dug into his back, but it definitely wasn't one borne of pain or discomfort. He jerked his hips away with a gasp and sat up, breathing heavily. His entire face was flushed to the tips of his ears, even his neck and shoulders suffering from red tinting.  
"Can I-" He paused just as he was slipping his fingers beneath the waistband of her soaked underwear. "I mean, uh, are you- Are you okay? If I, uh, keep going?" He shifted a bit awkwardly, his bulge pressing against Kanaya's thigh in eagerness to get more stimulation.

She shivered at the thought, nodding eagerly in response. “Please.” She whispers, arching up a bit to allow Karkat to pull the garments down. Oh fuck, oh god this was a thing that was going to happen. This was actually going down.   
Oh gosh, Kanaya just hides her glowing face behind her hands, eyes screwed shut as she awaits any kind of response to her desperate writhing.

Karkat chewed on his lip, mind racing three hundred miles an hour. He gently guided the tip of his bulge to her nook, breath hitching a bit as it squirmed against her lips, and then eased himself into her with a shuddery groan, wriggling into her and then practically collapsing down on top of her with her green bulge trapped between his stomach and hers.

As Karkat makes his way in, Kanaya squirms as the girth of his bulge slowly fills her, the walls of her body convulsing around him. Just when she thought she couldn’t make a bigger mess of herself than she already had, she found herself clinging to Karkat for dear life, her hips starting to buck against his, her bulge pressing to Karkat’s stomach.

Karkat let out a grunt as her hips bucked against his, shivering at the feeling of her nook contracting around his bulge. "Oh, ffffuck," He hissed out breathlessly, hiding his face against her neck and pressing his teeth against her throat. His hips jerked hard against hers, and he let out a small groan. Still, he fell into a slow, easy rhythm, reaching between them with one hand to let Kanaya's bulge coil against his fingers.

Those teeth were met with the extension of Kanaya’s neck, hand slipping up from Karkat’s back to his neck, pressing him a bit more into her throat. Soon, she found her teeth slowly piercing into her lip as her tapered length wound it’s way around Karkat’s lovely fingers. “Hgn...” Kanaya opens her mouth to speak, but only a whine comes out, and several failed attempts follow. Phew, okay. Deep breath. “K-karkat?”

Karkat let out a grunt, shivering as always as her fingers found their way to his hair. Her whines only encouraged him, bulge pulsing inside of her. He obligingly left love bites across her neck and throat, tenderly licking the marks before moving on. They would disappear after a few minutes, but she seemed to like the attention and he was more than willing to oblige. Once he finally caught his name he paused, picking his head up to look at her. "Huhn?" He said, voice hoarse and breathless, "D-did I- I didn't hurt you or anything did I? Are you okay?"

She shakes her head, almost spastic. “N-no, that is the last thing, y-YOUU” Her speech was cut off with a jump as she convulsed again, jade starting to pool below her. Her breathing is heavy for a moment, “I- I wanted to ask if you’d-” Another deep breath, trying not to sound like she was whining. Clearing her throat, she looks at him, as seriously as she can possibly let herself be. “Would you like to live with me?” Oh gosh, oh gosh she said it.

Her convulsion got a sharp groan out of him as well, hips bucking reflexively against her and pushing himself all the way into her again. "Hhhgh." Jade wasn't the only color pooling below them, but since they'd taken a break he slid his arms around her midsection, pressing small kisses against the underside of her jaw until she'd caught his eyes.   
Her offer made his eyebrows jump a bit in surprise, and he lifted himself on his hands so he could look down at her more earnestly. "Are- Are you sure?" He asked. "I- I mean, /yeah/, but- I don't wanna get in your way or anything."

Kanaya’s grip around him tightens when he pushes into her, and there her composure goes again, or at least what little she managed to gather. More concentrating and deep breaths followed as she looked into his eyes, propping up on her elbows.  
This next bit takes her some courage to say, but it doesn’t come before too long. “I- I do not want to lose you again.” And with that, her arms found their way back around his neck.

Karkat's face was inscrutable for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between Kanaya's, before he leaned down and bumped his forehead against hers. "I don't wanna lose you again either." He mumbled, pressing his lips against hers. He started thrusting into her again, still pressing kisses against her lips as he slipped his hand back between them to grasp her bulge.

Ohhh woah, okay. Kanaya was not expecting that. She melted in his arms again when his warm touch made contact with her, lips pressing into Karkat’s a bit more. She tilts her head, parting her lips, slipping her tongue out to coax his into her mouth. All the while, her hips still rocking to his rhythm. 

Karkat let his tongue slide against Kanaya's, a bit more clumsy in this as a result of lack of practice. But he /was/ very good at biting, and he tugged at her lip with his teeth gently, grunting softly as his bulge twisted inside of her, leaking red genetic material and swelling slightly. "Ohhh, fuck I'm not g-gonna last much longer," He panted against her ear.

And biting was definitely something Kanaya was fond of, to say the least. With each nibble she shivered under him, her own teeth starting to find his lip and tongue on and off as well. Kanaya has a hard time pulling herself from Karkat to give a decent reply, but she manages. “D-do not hold back, wuh- whatever you do, do not hold back.” 

Karkat let out a low, keening whine, hips bucking harder against Kanaya's and his hand gripping the base of her bulge. He was definitely close. He pulled Kanaya tight against him with a groan and buried himself all the way inside of her, a sudden torrent of candy-red genetic material flowing into her.

As Karkat’s hold on her bulge tightens, Kanaya takes a deep inhale of breath. Her muscles tense up in one final wave of pleasure as she releases soon after Karkat, low moans escaping between her lips as she tries to breathe at a normal pace. With her body starting to relax between convulsions, she holds Karkat close, nuzzling her face into his neck. “Oh... Oh my gosh.” Giving little kisses to his forehead.

Karkat's face was hidden against her neck for a few moments before she climaxed herself, breathing heavy. Soon enough she'd finished too, and Karkat lifted his head a bit as she kissed his forehead, intercepting them with his lips not soon after, exchanging gentle little kisses with her and holding her tightly despite the red and green mess they'd made. "Yeah," He agreed breathlessly. "Good thing w-we're in the water."

She chuckles, pressing one last kiss to his lips. “Good thing we set our clothes on the sand.” A blush flushes her cheeks when she looks around a bit. The water was clouded with green and red. It looked fuckin’ Christmas up in there. “Perhaps we should get them back on.” Sitting up, she wraps her arms around Karkat. “Of course, if that is alright with you.” She says, kissing his chest. Of course it would be fine with him, what a silly thing to say.

"Yeah," He said, catching his breath and sighing quietly as she kissed his chest. "Yeah, no problem." He rolled his shoulders a bit and then pushed himself up, tugging Kanaya to her feet immediately after. He shivered a bit, wading back out into the ocean a ways and letting the waves wash away the rest of the genetic material and sweat from his form, before turning and riding them back towards Kanaya. "If you want to go first, I can follow you back to your place." He offered.

As Karkat let the water wash his body of the mess, Kanaya did the same. There was just so much color everywhere still! Not to mention the sand that’d found it’s way into her hair. She ducks under the water, scrubbing her head to coax the sand out and returning to shore just before Karkat. When he speaks her ears perk- “Oh, yes, I do believe that would be the best way to go about things.” She smiles, ringing her hair dry as she walks to get her clothing. “It will take roughly two hours to drive- will you be able to manage?”


End file.
